The present invention relates to a method of adhesively bonding an elastomeric member to a glass substrate and to a vehicle glazing created thereby.
For some years it has been the practice to produce so-called modular window assemblies which are installed as a unit in an opening in a vehicle body. Such modular window assemblies, typically, have a polymeric frame or gasket molded onto, or otherwise bonded onto, a peripheral portion of a glass vehicle window. Due to the known difficulty of obtaining a strong bond between polymeric materials and glass, it is standard practice to, prior to molding of the polymeric frame or gasket, treat the peripheral portion of the glass window by applying an adhesion-promoting primer. Notwithstanding this additional step, it is known by those skilled in making modular window assemblies that it may take many hours, to several days, for the bond between the polymeric member and glass to reach its full strength. Prior to reaching maximum bond strength, the polymeric frame or gasket may be dislocated from its intended position by relatively minor contact with, for example, product packaging or performance of other operations such as installing a bulb seal, or simply by its own weight under the pull of gravity. This effect commonly is known as “creep.”
Due to modern manufacturing practices, where a modular window assembly may be delivered from the window manufacturer's facility to the vehicle manufacturer's facility within hours of its being made, it is possible that the previously described bond strength between polymeric material and glass may not have reached its maximum, thus raising the potential for dislocation or “creep” of the polymeric frame or gasket. It would, therefore, be desirable to decrease the time needed for the polymeric material/glass bond to reach, if not its maximum strength, at least sufficient strength to make significant dislocation or “creep” much less likely.